Pokemon Analysis: Mega Charizard X

For those who refuseto praise the sun we haveMega-Charizard-X

Hello Hat Lovers!

After seeing so many Charizard-X at Washington Regionals and having toyed around with the idea myself I wanted to write about the alternate mega form for Charizard. Mega-Charizard-X becomes a Fire/Dragon type when it evolves and gains the ability Tough Claws, which boosts the damage of its contact moves by 33%

Mega-Charizard-X’s base stats become 78 HP / 130 Attack / 110 Defence / 130 Special Attack / 85 Special Defence / 100 Speed. With these stats it can attack from both ends of the spectrum, but because of the aforementioned ability Tough Claws its physical attacks are preferred.

One of the best reasons to use Mega-Charizard-X is that most opponents will assume Mega-Charizard-Y and prepare for sun. Rotom-H is a great counter for Mega-Charizard-Y but will falter against Mega-Charizard-X, and surviving that Rock Slide and striking back after a Dragon Dance gives the user a ton of momentum. On Showdown I’d often find myself thinking that I’d be screwed if my opponent used Mega-Charizard-X over Y. Mark told me I was too quick to assume Mega-Charizard-X. After my run at Washington Regionals where I faced 3 Mega-Charizard-X I feel my assumptions were justified, though that’s mainly because my team dealt with sun fairly easily. I used a Charizard-Y on my team for the sole purpose of bluffing sun, but if I used a Mega-Charizard-X I would’ve still had this going for me and I’d have another option for opposing Rotom-H (such as the one that beat me in top 4.) Charizard-X also works well as a part of the classic double dragon strategy. Mega-Charizard-X is the only Dragon in VGC 2014 that isn’t weak to Fairy or Ice, so it can be paired with Salamence or Garchomp without doubling up on your all of your weaknesses.

The set:

The most common set for Mega-Charizard-X is Flare Blitz, Dragon Claw, Dragon Dance and Protect. Fire and Dragon give it near perfect coverage against the format, it only fails to deal neutral damage against Azumarill and Carbink. Dragon Dance puts Charizard ahead of Garchomp in speed and gives it the opportunity to speed tie with Salamence. There are plenty of other moves that Charizard can use but I couldn’t see myself dropping any of the four main moves to accommodate them.

As for the effort values we need to address what you want Mega-Charizard-X to do. Out-speeding Scarf Salamence is important but outside of that maximizing it’s speed is unnecessary. If your team has a good way of dealing with Scarf Salamence I’d recommend the following set:

This spread can survive Garchomp’s Dragon Claw 100% of the time and then survive Rough Skin damage 15/16 times. Unfortunately there is little hope of surviving a Draco Meteorfrom Salamence. The speed puts it above Jolly Gyarados and after a Dragon Dance it out speeds everything lacking a boost of its own. The rest was put into attack. If you find yourself having trouble against Salamence or even other Mega-Charizard-X then you can try a simple 252/252 spread and even consider using a Jolly Nature.

If you want to focus more on bulk while still getting the OHKO on Garchomp and Salamence without a Dragon Dance then you can use a spread of 180 HP / 108 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 212 Speed.

Partners:When making a team based around Mega-Charizard-X we need to find a good answer to Salamence and Garchomp. Both of which are naturally faster and threaten to OHKO with their Dragon moves.

A great partner for Charizard is Salamence. By giving it a Timid nature and a Choice Scarf you’ll be faster then all the other Dragons in the format (or speed tie with them.) Salamence brings Intimidate support to the table, which compliments Mega-Charizard-X’s improved physical bulk. Salamence takes care of Garchomp, which threatens Charizard-X with super effective damage from all of its moves. As mentioned before Salamence allows you to use the double dragon strategy while only have one weakness to Ice and Fairy.

Or we can use Bisharpas a “Silver Bullet”

Bisharp is a good partner for Charizard because it scares away Salamence and other Intimidate users. At +1 with a Life Orb Bisharp can OHKO Salamence and keep it from KOing Charizard right off the bat. I’ve never been a fan of Bisharp, its too frail for my tastes and I think it makes the Mega-Charizard-X too obvious. Bisharp also shares a weakness to Ground with Charizard, meaning it won’t help much against Garchomp.

Aerodactyl is another solid partner for Charizard-X. It can support Charizard with Sky Drop and Wide Guard to help it set up and stop incoming Earthquake and Rock Slide. Aerodactyl is also a common partner for Charizard-Y so it doesn’t tip your opponent off.

Fake Out users also make good partners. Mienshao has access to Wide Guard and Quick Guard to protect Charizard, as well as High Jump Kick to KO any Kangaskhan or Tyranitar that try to ruin your day. Raichu has access to Encore and redirects Electric attacks via Lightning Rod.

Conclusion:With the amount of Charizard-X I’ve seen recently, I have to wonder how popular it’ll be at Nationals. Washington showed us that Mega-Venusaur and Mega-Blastoise are both great Mega Pokemon when used correctly and I believe that Mega-Charizard-X is the same. All it would’ve taken to get it to top 4 would be for me to have given my Charizard the wrong right mega stone.